Mood changes in individuals who regularly participate in various forms of physical activity

Abstract

Purpose. A number of mental and physical benefits arise from leading an active lifestyle. Many forms of therapies make use of physical activity to reinforce rehabilitation as well as improve the condition of the body and mind. It is in this way that an individual can improve their well-being through cleansing the body of negative emotions and seek inner harmony, which is one of the most important features of mental health. However, the question arises whether all forms of physical activity improve the emotional state of an individual in the same way. A qualitative change in mood may be in fact related to the methodical factors present in physical activity (the type of exercise, the training method or its intensity and frequency) but also an instructor's personality, the age and gender of the participant as well as their physical fitness and motor skills, the subject's current social and mental state, environmental factors or other factors related to everyday life such as work, family, etc. The aim of this study was to determine the changes in mood of physically active and highly fit people, aged 22-25 years, after various forms of physical activity and with different training methodologies. Methods. The Mood Adjective Check List (UMACL) was admini stered to 84 students before and after completing a course in a number of physical activities. Statistical methods were then applied to the results to measure the size of the differences and for any statistical significance. Results. The results found that regardless of the form of physical activity or class duration, there was a positive change in the mood of participants. Differences in size of the changes, when compared to the forms of physical activity and gender, were not found. Conclusions. The improvement in mood of fit and regularly physically active adults is observed regardless what form of physical activity is practiced.

A Comparison of the Effects of 45‐minute Aerobic Training and Cognitive Task Solving on Transient Mood States in a Female Student Sample

“…A rather larger effect size was found for energetic arousal. Broadly, these effects are comparable with those seen in controlled laboratory environments (Augustine & Hemenover, ) and in previous studies of exercise classes that have used the UMACL (Guszkowska et al., ; Myrna‐Bekas et al., ). According to the dual‐process theory of Ekkekakis and Petruzzello (), the mood benefits of moderate‐intensity exercise reflect cognitive factors such as enhanced self‐efficacy, whereas high‐intensity exercise increasingly elicits interoceptive cues to high levels of exertion that may decrease pleasure.…”

“…The scale has also been successfully used in the context of exercise psychology (e.g. Myrna‐Bekas et al., ; Zajenkowski et al., ).…”

“…Valentine and Evans () showed superiority of swimming over solo and choral singing as a mood elevation strategy, and Guszkowska, Langwald, Dudziak, and Zaremba () demonstrated effects of a single exercise class on pregnant women's mood. Myrna‐Bekas, Kałwa, Stefaniak, and Kulmatycki () showed that mood enhancement generalised across different forms of exercise including dance and step aerobics, strength training, and boxing. More recently, Zajenkowski et al.…”

Physical Activity and the Emotional State of Physiotherapy Students Who Finish Their Education

“…Notably, the majority of those students do not seek help and they receive proper treatment less frequently than the members of the general population who suffer from depression [ 9 ]. Additionally, although they are aware of the protective function of physical activity in the prevention and treatment of multiple conditions, they engage in it less frequently [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ]. These findings are very alarming due to the nature of the work that those students will perform in the future.…”

Economic correlates of physical activity in adults

“…Since the physical activity of adults is highly significant for their proper social and individual functioning [28][29][30][31], it is necessary to undertake effective actions regarding individuals prone to hypokinesia, i.e. people without a steady income, low income, no money savings, and debt.…”